That's not to say we're not all stunned by Bouchard's achievement Down Under this week, the second Canadian (male or female) to ever qualify for a singles semifinal in a Grand Slam event, and the first since Carling Bassett at the 1984 U.S. Open.

Where once
Ana Ivanovic of Serbia stood in Bouchard's way
at the 2014 Australian Open, now stands Li Na of China, an older, more experienced opponent with a French Open title in her hip pocket and the support of the largest nation on earth behind her.

Getting past Li won't be easy. But what an opportunity!

This is thrilling stuff, both for Bouchard and for Tennis Canada, as the country almost certainly will soon have a top 20 player in both men's and women's pro tennis.

And maybe, you never know, its first Grand Slam singles champion.

While Raonic, to some degree, came out of nowhere to surpass peers like Philip Bester, Vasek Pospisil and Peter Polansky and charge to the forefront of men's tennis in Canada on the basis of his massive serve, Bouchard has been projected as Canada's best female for at least four years, back to the time she first competed in the junior girls event at Wimbledon as a 16-year-old.

By then, she had already turned pro, and was already playing team tennis in the United States. The daughter of a wealthy Westmount investment banker, she had the financial backing, the natural talent and the focus even at that age to project herself on to a much larger stage.

When she won the Wimbledon juniors two years later, the possibility that she might be the real deal increased.

And now, most believe, she certainly IS the real deal.

Down Under, she has surely benefitted from a most generous draw which has allowed her to get to the semifinals without yet having to face a top 10 opponent.

That's a unique situation, with higher seeds like Serena Williams and Petr Kvitova losing to other women, and Bouchard has taken advantage of it. Li is the No. 4 seed, and while Bouchard was probably a 50-50 proposition against Ivanovic, she will be a decided underdog against the charismatic Li.

Clearly, she'll have to protect her serve better than she did against Ivanovic, but then, her resolve in not letting that bother her was remarkable in and of itself. Li is beloved at this tournament, but then, Bouchard did just fine when she was faced with popular Australian veteran Casey Dellacqua in the fourth round.

Already, Bouchard looks like she belongs among the elite of the WTA tour, which very much needs some fresh new talent, particularly North American talent. It looked just a couple of years ago that Rebecca Marino of Vancouver might become that player, but personal issues drove her from the tour and she is no longer an active pro.

Bouchard's arrival has been in the cards for some time, hastened by her commitment to fitness and improvement, and aided by the state of the women's tour which is providing competitive openings just not available to men outside the top three or four players on the ATP tour.

Bouchard has looked like a star-in-waiting for years and now she is a star, at least in Canada and probably beyond. There's a steely, business-like toughness about her that is almost Sharapova-like. She has talked about not needing to have friends on tour, about not wanting to be too friendly with women she might need to beat.

The really exciting news for Canadian tennis, meanwhile, is that Bouchard may not be alone for long.

Last week 16-year-old Francoise Abanda of Montreal won her first pro tournament in Florida, a good result as she fights her way back from injuries that hampered her 2013 season.

The 5-foot-11 Abanda, the daughter of Cameroon immigrants, bears a striking resemblance to Venus Williams on court and has a big power game.

Just as Pospisil (injured in Australia) has joined Raonic in the top 30, Abanda might be able to join Bouchard on the international stage in the next few years as Canada continues to develop as a tennis power.

But right now, Bouchard has it all to herself, and rightfully so. Along with Raonic, she's tearing down barriers to Canadian tennis, demonstrating that elite success in the sport is possible.

Maybe we saw her coming. But that might make the fact that she has actually made the hype turn into reality even more impressive.

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